Beautiful Stranger
by 9155708
Summary: The flying sparks of electricity we were unconsciously sending to each other certainly did not help my surreptitious temptation to reach over and touch him... ExB of course! Rated T because I'm paranoid. Enjoy!


**New story! Hope you like :)**

**Summary: Bella and Edward meet on a plane trip to Paris. Uh oh...**

"Hi there, I think that might be my seat."

I looked up from my book –Jane Eyre, which I was reading for the millionth time- into the emerald eyes of an angel.

"Oh, uh, err…" I was stuttering. Great. I was probably blushing bright red as well. This mysterious man chuckled. I admired his perfect features. Boy was he beautiful. Messy bronze hair and pale, perfect skin; he was definitely a sight for sore eyes. I realized then that I hadn't even moved for him, and was staring with my mouth opening and closing like a guppy with no idea what to say.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," I muttered, trying to maneuver myself into the aisle next to him. He slid into the window seat as I stumbled clumsily on his right shoe and literally fell on top of him. _God, _I thought to myself, _could this get any better_? I huffed, and he let out an awkward musical laugh that tingled down to my toes. I looked up nervously into his twinkling eyes, ready to apologize profusely. But when I did, he met me with a kind, understanding smile. All of a sudden, time stopped. For one, infinite moment of completion, there was no other living soul on this aeroplane, or in the world, for that matter- except for this beautiful stranger and me. I resumed the regularity of breathing as he spoke words that tugged at my very soul.

"I'm Edward," he stated, "what's your name?" I answered as I was quickly yet clumsily scrambling off him back to my own seat.

"I'm Isabella, but you can call me Bella, if you want to; I really don't mind, just call me whatever…" Oh, fabulous. I was babbling. _Babbling to a beautiful stranger._

_-  
_

"Well, Bella," he said softly but surely, "what a pleasure it is to meet you." He smiled in earnest, and I felt like my heart would explode out of my constricted chest. I attempted to smile back, but I was clearly dazzled, and my half smile probably looked more like I was in pain. Which, of course, I wasn't; I was simply dazzled by this beautiful stranger.

We didn't talk for about half an hour after that. The flying sparks of electricity we were unconsciously sending to each other certainly did not help my surreptitious temptation to reach over and touch him.

Thank God I was on this plane. Thank God I arrived within minutes of the boarding time; otherwise I never would have met this Edward, who actually dazzled me beyond belief. Actually, thank Renée. She was the one who made sure I arrived on time, or as close to on time as Renée can ever be. She was the one whose motivation it was for me to take this well deserved trip to France; Paris to be exact. I remembered her saying those words to me;

"_Bella, you need to get out! You've been at college for 2 and a half years now, and you haven't taken one vacation! It's spring break now, where better than to spend it than in Paris? You'll meet lots of cute French boys," _she added, playfully nudging me in the ribs.

Actually, despite my thorough disapproval, she was the one who bought me this plane ticket in the first place. So, thanks Renée. Thanks for everything. I was adamant about insisting to pay for the rest though- the accommodation and living costs. My part time job at the small book shop two streets up from my community college definitely helped out _that_ part of the equation. And I had to admit, it was exciting. I'd never been outside Phoenix before, let alone the US. The forecasts assured me it would be warm and sunny for the entirety of the 2 weeks that I was spending there. This made it even better, since I had never been a huge fan of overcast, cold days.

Reluctantly, I found myself being snapped from my day-dreaming and reminiscing into the real world, where a flight attendant was in the middle of talking to me in an annoyed manner.

"Uh, excuse me? Would you like anything from the trolley?" she snapped.

I appraised the large silver trolley. Chips, sweets and beer were all I could see. I politely refused her offer and went back to my book, which was in the seat pocket, while she asked Edward what he wanted. I noticed a tone of seduction coming from her ruby red lips which I was not pleased to hear. By the sounds of Edward's disapproving answer, he wasn't too pleased to hear it either. I laughed to myself. It's not like the flight attendant wasn't pretty- hell, she was gorgeous; tall and skinny with long blonde hair and blue eyes. I had no idea why he wouldn't be interested in her. Maybe he has a girlfriend. That thought got me down. I turned my head discreetly to catch a glimpse of him.

To my complete surprise he was doing the exact same thing, so I blushed bright pink and looked away.

"So," he started, casually. I prayed that I wouldn't make a complete and total fool of myself. I turned and smiled at him. "What are you in Paris for, Bella?" What was I in Paris for, again? I think Edward caused me temporary amnesia. Then I remembered. I inwardly warned myself not to say too much.

"Well, it was my Mother's idea, actually. I've been at college for two years now, you see. And, well, I'm on spring break now so I thought, may as well celebrate. Just quietly, I've never been out of the United States." Where did all that confidence come from? I surprised even myself.

"Really? Two years of college? That's great. You seriously haven't been out of the US?" He seemed incredulous.

"Yeah, I haven't. Ever. So this is my first time overseas. And, yeah, I finished high school when I was 18, and went straight to college. My Mum wanted me to travel a bit, but I just wanted to get my degree. I'm studying primary teaching." I smiled at him, trying to breathe properly. Did he have this effect on everybody? Surely not.

"Wow, that's quite an agenda. I'm at Dartmouth, this is my first year." I gaped. _Dartmouth_? How smart _was_ he? "Wow. What are you studying?"

"Physiology. I want to be a doctor when I'm older." I couldn't believe it. How was it possible that a boy this good looking would want to be a doctor? I was so used to the boys at my old high school wanting to be a plumber, or a carpenter. _Not_ a doctor.

"Why do you want to be a doctor?" I couldn't believe this conversation was flowing so smoothly.

"I honestly don't know. I've been wanting to be a doctor ever since I was little. I think it has something to do with the saving-people's-lives part." He looked at me with his almond shaped emerald eyes. "What about you? You want to be a school teacher then?" I was ready for this question.

"Well yeah. I love little kids," I grinned. Edward looked at me with wide eyes.

"Really? I love them too. I play with my neices and nephews all the time." He smiled warmly and I returned it. I decided to change the topic.

"So, where are you staying in Paris? And for how long?" I didn't want to admit to myself that I was eager for these details only because I wanted to see him again. I blushed unconsciously before turning to listen to his answer. "Oh, I'm staying for 2 weeks,_" _he told me where he was staying in a cheesy French accent. I giggled nervously.

"What about you, Bella? Where are you staying?" I pulled the brochure out of my backpack and consulted it. My eyes widened. I was staying at the same place! What was the chance? "Woah. I'm staying there as well. For 2 weeks too!"

-

Maybe it was fate. Maybe I was meant to meet Edward. Maybe we were meant to stay at the same hotel and end up seeing each other again. I could only hope. We talked for 4 hours straight after that revelation, about everything from movies to childhood stories. Nonstop. I was seriously surprised at how much we had in common, from music tastes to hopes for our lives. We stopped talking then, and we both started reading our own books.

I must have drifted off, because the next thing I felt was Edward's gentle caress on my shoulder, waking me up.

"Bella, Bella. Do you want to see Paris?" I opened my eyes and looked out the small aeroplane window, onto the bright lights of Paris. It was an amazing view. It was nighttime right now, so everything shone and twinkled. I could see the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe and sighed with amazement. Looking back to Edward, I knew that this would be one holiday I was never going to forget.

**Tell me if you want me to continue please!**

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